So, yesterday I decided to go and mod my Grado SR80's when the right channel decided to die. The idea was to remove the current cable and replace it with a detachable one.
I decided to do some research on how to open the cans and found a nice collection of mods and articles. With a simple google I was thrown back into the wonderful world of modding.
Phase one: Disassembly.
Disassembling the headset was quite an ordeal. I had considered going for a hairdryer or the "spoon" approach to open the cans but decided on the hot water approach for practical reasons. I heated a cup that was about the same parameter of the dislodged can and placed it over there, grill side facing down into the cup. This loosened up the glue a bit. I had to repeat that process a couple of times before I was comfortable opening them completely.
Phase two: Making the cord.
I decided to go a bit on the fancy side with the cord and bought these nice looking chrome finish plugs. 2.5mm mono plugs for each ear and a 3.5mm mini jack.
Besides being fairly unfamiliar with my recently acquired Weller gas powered soldering iron the only snag I hit was when I realized that the spring on the 3.5mm stereo plug wouldn't fit the cable I had chosen. This wasn't as bad as I thought it to be at first and I think the final result is just as good.
Phase three: ????????
Using the excuse of having a project I finally indulged myself and bought a Dremel. I then promptly began sanding down the cord opening to fit the jack in there.
Assembling the headset wasn't nearly as hard as prying it apart, I didn't even have to glue the cans together because the jack holds it in place.
Phase four: Profit.
This looks pretty sweet. What purpose do you have in mind for this? Note: 'Because I f****** can!" Is a completely legitimate reason ;).
3Well, besides "because I can". The way the headset operates it that the cans are on a 360 degree swivel which causes the cables to wind up and be unwieldy. By having the cables detachable it's really easy for me to unwind them as well as having a really nice failsafe if I someone yanks the cable.
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I love my grado's. I find them somewhat uncomterble, and I want to somehow mod them to fit more comfortable ear pads.
2What type do you have, the ones on the sr60 model are much more comfortable I guess. You can order different pads for Grados from a variety of places. http://goodcans.com/HeadphoneStore/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=8&products_id=65 found this with a quick google.
1Ya those are okay, still not that great. What I want is my own version of this (scroll down for "C pads" http://www.headphile.com/page5.html), I just don't want to spend ~250$ on pads for ~100$ cans :D, but maybe it's worth it, even sr80s have pretty amazing drivers.
2I'm thinking of doing something similar with my Audio Technica headphones. I want to shorten the cable, but i want to make it detachable and be able to attach a shorter/longer cable as necessary. I looked into it and decided that it's probably not worth it.
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Its so sexy to see a man work with his hands.
6Jul 23rd 2011 2:43 PM